He signed his first professional contract two months ago and now Caleb Clarke is auditioning overseas for another.
The standout striker from Richmond is on a two week trial with FC Rot-Weiss Erfurt of Germany's third-tier '3.Liga'. If the tryout is successful, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC top prospect will likely be loaned to FC Rot-Weiss Erfurt for one year. Clarke, who turned 19 last Saturday, became the Whitecaps' sixth Homegrown signing on April 24. He was one of the club's initial Residency Program selections nearly three years ago.
"Caleb has enjoyed tremendous success since joining the club," said Whitecaps FC head coach Martin Rennie. "The timing of the trial is a little unfortunate with the start of the USSDA playoffs this week. However, this is a good development opportunity for him and Erfurt need to see him during this time frame, so he can play some friendly matches in their pre-season."
Clarke finished the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) regular season second overall in scoring with 24 goals in 23 matches in the 78-club league. He currently leads Whitecaps FC's United Soccer Leagues (USL) Premier Development League (PDL) U-23 side with five goals in seven matches.
Prior to joining the Whitecaps FC Residency program in Sept. 2009, he was part of a highly successful local youth team (Richmond Madrid) that was coached by his father - Clive Clarke. That squad also included current Whitecaps Residency player Declan Rodriguez.
Clarke also spent three years with the provincial team program (U13, U14 and U15) and two more years with Canadian Soccer Association's National Training Centre program. Last December, he was was one of five Residency players to take part in a training camp with Canada's U20 national team in Sunrise, Florida.
Corner kicks... Rodriguez and another Richmond Youth Soccer product - 18-year-old striker Carlos Marquez - are currently with the Whitecaps Residency U18 team at the USSDA playoffs in Frisco, Texas. After a heartbreaking 32 defeat in their opening game to the Pateadores, the Whitecaps rebounded with 4-0 victory over Weston FC. Rodriguez was in the starting back four, while Marquez came off the bench in the 60th minute and scored his team's third goal 15 minutes later.
Vancouver was slated to play its final round-robin game yesterday and still could advance to the quarterfinals with a win and some help. See Wednesday's edition of the News for a story the next step in Rodriguez's promising career.
